Thursday, January 21, 2016

Mattel Goes "Sycho"

He was Vicious. He was Justice. He was Humongous. He was even "Sycho." A master of the powerbomb, a skyscraper, and the master and ruler of the world. He is Sid. There's little middle ground on the man. You either like him or you don't. He had a look that was absolutely made for the wrestling business in a time when big men ruled. He hit all of the major companies as well as the top titles. Although he made it to the top of the mountain, various issues prevented him from staying there, or in any promotion, for very long. Now, thanks to Mattel, the man that rules the world is back.

The WWE action figure manufacturer is kicking the year off right. New packaging and many new characters. The first Elite series already contains three Flashback figures, usually favorites on this blog, with Davey Boy Smith and The Godfather joining Sid. The new Elite packaging is very attractive. The bubble is once again "open air" at the top, looking a lot like some superhero figure packaging that I've seen. The figures are also categorized with the logo (Legends, Divas, NXT, etc) that they're most associated with, although in 2016 I'm not sure how a current star can necessarily be labeled from either Raw or Smackdown.

Sid is an absolute giant. Although he always came across as gigantic on television, I don't think that I fully grasped his stature until I stood next to him. That being said, the figure is required to reflect that. The Jakks Classic Superstars Sid was one of the great disappointments in an otherwise unmatchable line. The body and limbs seemed way too wimpy for the massive Sid. The figure also came at a time when the Jakks quality was beginning to wane, making extensive posing of the figures rather risky. Mattel's Sid is big and sturdy. He absolutely looks as in-scale as possible.

This particular Sid facial likeness is one that has yet to be captured until now. Most past Sid figures went for the serious, menacing face. Mattel went the route of Sid's psychotic laugh. It works. Commentators would often point out Sid's maniacal grin and guffaws at the sight of his downed and decimated opponents. I can also recall several classic magazine covers with that exact grin on full display.

Most of the body parts themselves are reused, but they work, no questions asked. Sid was not the most technically sound wrestler, so as long as the figure can perform a powerbomb and chokeslam, you should be good to go. You could probably even reasonably recreate Sid's famous WCW injury, but who would want to do that? Sid's leather entrance vest is also included. I believe that this is an all-new accessory. It is definitely different from the one included with Barry Windham last year.

Here we have another former Horseman from Mattel. In what should be a year of great new faces from the company, Sid is a nice start. For most Mattel collectors, I'd call it a no-brainer to add to the collection. With a few different looks and outfits, I wouldn't rule out another Sid from Mattel down the road. He's certainly a name that I could see being thrown into a Basic set as is becoming more and more the case with Legends figures.

What more is there to say? Throw down your softball bat and squeegee and pick up a Sid!